The surgical procedure for heart valve replacement typically involves removal of a diseased heart valve and implantation of an artificial heart valve device. Removal of the diseased heart valve generally involves cutting the valve from the heart to form an annulus in which the replacement valve is implanted. Conventional cutting processes for forming the heart valve annulus involve the use of scissor devices to cut the existing valve tissue from the heart.
This conventional use of scissors often produces imprecise cuts and leaves an irregular annulus in which the surgeon must then attach the replacement valve. Typically, attachment of the replacement valve is accomplished by suturing a sewing cuff to the valve annulus. Because of the irregular annulus left by the use of scissors, the suturing process can be quite time consuming. In particular, the surgeon must insure that there are no openings around the replacement valve that would allow blood to flow from the heart chamber without passing through the replacement valve.